The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name

The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name

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  • Create Date:2023-10-23 13:23:00
  • Update Date:2025-09-06
  • Status:finish
  • Author:Brian C. Muraresku
  • ISBN:1250803985
  • Environment:PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Summary

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

As seen on The Joe Rogan Experience!


A groundbreaking dive into the role psychedelics have played in the origins of Western civilization, and the real-life quest for the Holy Grail that could shake the Church to its foundations。

The most influential religious historian of the 20th century, Huston Smith, once referred to it as the "best-kept secret" in history。 Did the Ancient Greeks use drugs to find God? And did the earliest Christians inherit the same, secret tradition? A profound knowledge of visionary plants, herbs and fungi passed from one generation to the next, ever since the Stone Age?

There is zero archaeological evidence for the original Eucharist—the sacred wine said to guarantee life after death for those who drink the blood of Jesus。 The Holy Grail and its miraculous contents have never been found。 In the absence of any hard data, whatever happened at the Last Supper remains an article of faith for today’s 2。5 billion Christians。 In an unprecedented search for real answers, Brian C。 Muraresku's The Immortality Key examines the archaic roots of the ritual that is performed every Sunday for nearly one third of the planet。 Religion and science converge to paint a radical picture of Christianity’s founding event。 And after centuries of debate, to solve history’s greatest puzzle once and for all。

Before the birth of Jesus, the Ancient Greeks found salvation in their own sacraments。 Sacred beverages were routinely consumed as part of the so-called Ancient Mysteries—elaborate rites that led initiates to the brink of death。 The best and brightest from Athens and Rome flocked to the spiritual capital of Eleusis, where a holy beer unleashed heavenly visions for two thousand years。 Others drank the holy wine of Dionysus to become one with the god。 In the 1970s, renegade scholars claimed this beer and wine—the original sacraments of Western civilization—were spiked with mind-altering drugs。 In recent years, vindication for the disgraced theory has been quietly mounting in the laboratory。 The constantly advancing fields of archaeobotany and archaeochemistry have hinted at the enduring use of hallucinogenic drinks in antiquity。 And with a single dose of psilocybin, the psychopharmacologists at Johns Hopkins and NYU are now turning self-proclaimed atheists into instant believers。 But the smoking gun remains elusive。

If these sacraments survived for thousands of years in our remote prehistory, from the Stone Age to the Ancient Greeks, did they also survive into the age of Jesus? Was the Eucharist of the earliest Christians, in fact, a psychedelic Eucharist?

With an unquenchable thirst for evidence, Muraresku takes the reader on his twelve-year global hunt for proof。 He tours the ruins of Greece with its government archaeologists。 He gains access to the hidden collections of the Louvre Museum to show the continuity from pagan to Christian wine。 He unravels the Ancient Greek of the New Testament with the world’s most controversial priest。 He spelunks into the catacombs under the streets of Rome to decipher the lost symbols of Christianity’s oldest monuments。 He breaches the secret archives of the Vatican to unearth manuscripts never before translated into English。 And with leads from the archaeological chemists at the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he unveils the first scientific data for the ritual use of psychedelic drugs in classical antiquity。

The Immortality Key reconstructs the suppressed history of women consecrating a forbidden, drugged Eucharist that was later banned by the Church Fathers。 Women who were then targeted as witches during the Inquisition, when Europe’s sacred pharmacology largely disappeared。 If the scientists of today have resurrected this technology, then Christianity is in crisis。 Unless it returns to its roots。

Featuring a Foreword by Graham Hancock, the New York Times bestselling author of America Before: The Key to Earth's Lost Civilization

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Reviews

Katie

99% of the ancient, Classical world is lost to us due to age and time。 Perhaps some Classical writings and artifacts have been hidden away in the Vatican。The older I get and the more I read, the more I don’t believe the Roman Empire fell, but that it just became the Roman Catholic Church。So many religions from all over the world began with mystical experiences and revelations experienced by founders and followers alike that the author, Brian Muraresku, argues aren’t replicated today。This book co 99% of the ancient, Classical world is lost to us due to age and time。 Perhaps some Classical writings and artifacts have been hidden away in the Vatican。The older I get and the more I read, the more I don’t believe the Roman Empire fell, but that it just became the Roman Catholic Church。So many religions from all over the world began with mystical experiences and revelations experienced by founders and followers alike that the author, Brian Muraresku, argues aren’t replicated today。This book covers a lot of history, from the Stone Age to modern day。 There are a lot of ideas covered too。 If you want to learn more, I’d read or listen to “The Immortality Key”。 。。。more

Bailey

5 stars just for the insane amount of research。

Radu

One of the most fascinating books I've read in a long time, both in terms of subject matter as well as the writing style itself。 Having already listened to several of Muraresku's talks on the topic, I still found the book to be quite engaging and thought-provoking, and definitely well worth the length (which is usually a deterrent for me)。 It blends investigative journalism with scientific research and a dash of humor, which makes it all very captivating。 As someone who not only brews but is als One of the most fascinating books I've read in a long time, both in terms of subject matter as well as the writing style itself。 Having already listened to several of Muraresku's talks on the topic, I still found the book to be quite engaging and thought-provoking, and definitely well worth the length (which is usually a deterrent for me)。 It blends investigative journalism with scientific research and a dash of humor, which makes it all very captivating。 As someone who not only brews but is also interested in the history of religions, in particular the adoption of pagan rituals by Christianity, I found his Pagan Continuity Hypothesis very compelling, not to mention the intriguing theory around the Eucharist itself。 If you're only tangentially interested in the subject, maybe try listening to one of his many talks first before committing to reading his book, because at times he does go down some rabbit holes that some might not find all that interesting。 。。。more

J。

oy。。 it's so long。 the argument is interesting, and I don't dislike that the supporting evidence is framed like a travel book, but some parts are very belabored。 but yeah, I think the core is the argument, and it's a fascinating one。 oy。。 it's so long。 the argument is interesting, and I don't dislike that the supporting evidence is framed like a travel book, but some parts are very belabored。 but yeah, I think the core is the argument, and it's a fascinating one。 。。。more

a b b y

Religion took away an individual’s autonomy and right to discover the world for themself‽ wow, who would have thought religion was so sinister? /s Me。 This book was a bit confirmation bias, but I loved where it took me。

C H

intriguing

Kyle Brennan

The more I read, the more I can appreciate how much we truly don't know about history - either through omission of fact, the disappearance of data, ignorance, or even plain old arrogance。 Pride is concerned with who is right, but humility is concerned with what is right。 The Immortality Key is a fascinating glimpse into what may sound like an absurd theory on its face, however, if you're open to the idea that there may be a different explanation for religion than what we've been told for centuri The more I read, the more I can appreciate how much we truly don't know about history - either through omission of fact, the disappearance of data, ignorance, or even plain old arrogance。 Pride is concerned with who is right, but humility is concerned with what is right。 The Immortality Key is a fascinating glimpse into what may sound like an absurd theory on its face, however, if you're open to the idea that there may be a different explanation for religion than what we've been told for centuries, you may stumble upon an entirely new account of humanity and faith as we know it。 In this book filled with over ten years of research, Brian Muraresku explores the question "Was the original Holy Communion or Eucharist, in fact, a psychedelic Eucharist?"The idea is that the Greek mystics used a drugged wine of a fungus called ergot, which produced LSD-like hallucinogenic effects, to not just worship god, but to "become" God through the visions one experiences during a psychedelic trip。 There is biochemical evidence that this ergot wine was used in ceremonies all over Greece, Spain, Italy, and Turkey during the formative time of Christianity。 Simply put, the story of paleo-Christianity is about Greek-speaking mystics in southern Italy demanding personal access to the Eucharist。 It wasn’t the priests who attracted them to Jesus。 It wasn’t the Church Fathers。 And it certainly wasn’t the Bible of the basilicas, because neither existed。 It was the experience of meeting God, free from doctrine, dogma, and any institution whatsoever。 Surely that’s something people today can appreciate。 Rating: 4。8 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 。。。more

X

I really did not like this book。 It felt like a man rationalizing to himself for 350 pages why he was an atheist。 The book was also probably twice as long as it needed to be, with lots of fluff and side tangets that did not tie to the arguments he was trying to make。 Those arguments were:1。 Pre-Christian mystery religions were based on the ritualistic use of hallucinogenics。2。 Early Christianity co-opted the mystery religions and were focused on the ritualistic use of hallucinogenics。3。 The chur I really did not like this book。 It felt like a man rationalizing to himself for 350 pages why he was an atheist。 The book was also probably twice as long as it needed to be, with lots of fluff and side tangets that did not tie to the arguments he was trying to make。 Those arguments were:1。 Pre-Christian mystery religions were based on the ritualistic use of hallucinogenics。2。 Early Christianity co-opted the mystery religions and were focused on the ritualistic use of hallucinogenics。3。 The church then crushed the hallucinogenic use and replaced the Eucharist with mundane bread and wine around 300 AD。To support point #1, it boiled down to expressions of awe at the mysteries written by ancient participants and the presence of ergot (hallucinogenic grain mold) on a jaw excavated in Spain。 Very, very weak。To support point #2, he has even less direct evidence。 He tries to make the case that Jesus was a clone of Dionysus and since he already “proved” followers of Dionysus used hallucinogenics, therefore followers of Jesus used hallucinogenics。 Further proof are wine allegories and imagery used by Jesus and early Christians, that he felt strengthened the identification of Jesus with Dionysus。To support point #3, he again had pretty scant and circumstantial evidence。 He cites medieval anti-witchcraft writings and some ancient anti-gnostic writings。 He thinks this was really all due to witches and gnostics doing hallucinogenics and the church felt threatened。 The whole book is mostly narratives of his travels, which is the best part of the book, as he visits different museums and archaeological sites。 The rest are these thin wisps he tries to tie together to make a case。 I think the following passage sums it up the best: “For the untested religion [early Christianity] to have any chance of success, however, the Eucharist simply had to involve the kind of genuine mystical experiences so well documented in the Dionysian tradition。 Unlike the cardboard wafer and cheap boxed wine of today’s Mass, it had to actually deliver。 When Pope Francis says the “precise objective” of the Eucharist is to “become one” with Jesus, I’m not sure what he means。 Like many Catholics, I’ve taken Communion hundreds and hundreds of times in my life, and never once felt a fraction of the ecstasy reported in the art and literature of Ancient Greece。 And never once did I taste the apotheosis that was promised to me in John 6:56: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them。” ”I felt that boiled down the whole book。 “I’ve never had a spiritual experience in a church, therefore nobody else possibly could。 The fact that they did means they had to be on drugs。”Never mind the fact that according to Muraresku the church had stamped out the use of hallucinogenics by around 300 AD, yet billions have had religious experiences and felt a spiritual connection to God without drugs for that 1700 year period。 。。。more

Stuart Baxter

Amazing and extremely informative and thoroughly researched。

Artiom Karsiuk

In short, this right here is a deep-dive into the history of ritualistics boozing: civilization's journey from spiked (drugged) beer and later wine to the modern day Eucharist。You know the Eucharist? Also known as the Holy Communion - the symbolic BODY and BLOOD of Christ。 Dirty Christian cannibals。。。 The theory the author proposes and tries to prove over the course of this investigative journalism style book is that the Eucharist's origin lies deep within Greek history of psychedelic beverages In short, this right here is a deep-dive into the history of ritualistics boozing: civilization's journey from spiked (drugged) beer and later wine to the modern day Eucharist。You know the Eucharist? Also known as the Holy Communion - the symbolic BODY and BLOOD of Christ。 Dirty Christian cannibals。。。 The theory the author proposes and tries to prove over the course of this investigative journalism style book is that the Eucharist's origin lies deep within Greek history of psychedelic beverages intertwined with the kykeon used in Eulesean Mysteries, as well as the Dionysian Mysteries practiced by the cult of Dionysus。Yeah, Dionysus。 One of the many unoriginal versions of Jesus throughout human history: Papa being God and Mama being a mortal; the nifty resurrection; turning water to win; etc。But I digress~! The main point of the book is that the original Christian Eucharist was a hallucinogenic DMT or psilocybin-induced wine that ACTUALLY let you experience death and God, but later it was erased from history by the Holy See (the governing body of the Catholic Church): leaving us this 21st century neutered/placebo/symbolic Eucharist you've tasted in your lifetime。 Very bland。 I give it zero stars。After reading through his argument, I have to say that the concept itself I believe - it just makes sense - but there seemed to be a lot of confirmation bias when it came to some evidence, even though the author himself never did drugs in an effort to preserve his journalistic integrity。 。。。more

Kevin Clark

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it, click here。 If you are interested in the antiquity of Greece, Christianity and western religious culture as we know it。 This is a phenomenal read。 Very eye opening and insightful on the use of psychedelics in ancient Athens。 As well as the Vaticans choice to completely shun our women from performing and facilitating the Eucharists like they did in Greece。

Joel S。

In The Immortality Key, Muraresku delves into some really interesting subjects, and convincingly argues for the case that Christianity blossomed from hallucinogenic wine。 However, the structure was all over the place, it was hard to follow, and it was entirely too long。 5/10

Viktor Perejuc

If half of this is true, we have to rethink everything about humanity and its origin

Ginger Fargas

If you have a religious background or have purposely avoided one, you will probably find this interesting。 It is very Eurocentric in focus but that’s not problematic given the focus on Christianity and it’s roots。 Very intriguing and dense with excellent research。 Told in first person which was a unique choice but felt more readable that way I think。

Rick Stephens

Definitely opened my mind up

Leo Schwarz

Very tough read。 Long and overly-detailed book without providing much context or the grand scheme of things for the non-archaeologist。 While I like the pagan continuity hypothesis, this book has done little to convince me。 Far too many leaps across time and space to construct a logical/plausible story。 However, my friend loves this book and recommended it to me as one of the best books he’s ever read。 Best to make up your own mind。

Alexander Demopoulos

Beginning is interesting, remainder is incredibly tough to read

Cathal

Content was good。 Structurally he diverges so much into thoughts or anecdotes。 Book could be a lot shorter and more direct。 But enjoyable read just took me a while

Devin

Esther crawford rec also

Sweta

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it, click here。 So。。。。。 Jesus is Dionysius。 Noice。

SHANNON FIGUEROA

One of the best book, I have read

Michelle

Interesting-shrooms and religion

Mark Chadbourn

A fantastic book that will change the way you think about many things - a real-life historical detective story that moves from the groves where the Dionysian rites were enacted to the hidden archives beneath the Vatican to which the author had unprecedented access。 Recommended。

Michelle

I'm of 2 minds on this book, on the one hand, I found it very repetitive and boring on the other there were some fascinating discussions/discoveries along the way。 I had to borrow this book twice from my library to slog through it all but in the end, I found the payoff rewarding。 I'm of 2 minds on this book, on the one hand, I found it very repetitive and boring on the other there were some fascinating discussions/discoveries along the way。 I had to borrow this book twice from my library to slog through it all but in the end, I found the payoff rewarding。 。。。more

Katya

Best book of 2022 for me, certainly the most unexpected! It was on my wish list for a while and I am not sure how it made it there。 When I got the book from Libby, I expected some sportsy/healthy eating story about what we should do to have a long healthy life。 I was so, so surprised to find what it was really about!I enjoyed perspective of the author on the role of drugs in the religion and spirituality, and how they can help to embrace hardship of life in some situations。

Jap Hengky

Nah。。

Sean Roelofs

Shows the ancient connection between psychedelics and religion, although perhaps in a bit too much detail for my tastes。

Angel Romero

Mind blowing data。 Reaserched along as the book went on to confirm the findings。

Petro Kacur

I've been fascinated by the Eleusinian mysteries ever since learning of them in detail when I read a biography of Alexander the Great that noted his parents, King Philip II and Olympias, met at this annual ritual festival。 Here Muraresku dives deep into the 'pagan continuity hypothesis' - the idea that Christianity adopted some ideas, symbols and practices from cultures that predated Christ。 He makes very cogent arguments about that and specifically about the Eleusinian festivals and the role of I've been fascinated by the Eleusinian mysteries ever since learning of them in detail when I read a biography of Alexander the Great that noted his parents, King Philip II and Olympias, met at this annual ritual festival。 Here Muraresku dives deep into the 'pagan continuity hypothesis' - the idea that Christianity adopted some ideas, symbols and practices from cultures that predated Christ。 He makes very cogent arguments about that and specifically about the Eleusinian festivals and the role of Dionysius and imbibing a ritual drink。 He takes it a step further and connects the dots that this was a psychedelic experience。 His arguments are very cogent and well researched。 The book is fascinating and he takes us to the ancient sites, interviews experts and trips to the secret Vatican archives。 Not that I'm convinced about his arguments but he does a good job of outlining them。 I listened to this on audio tape。 。。。more

Purva Brown

Enjoyed this one。 Heard about it on a podcast。 Happy to have read it。

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